Wok, nonstick? preseasoned? season on my own?

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chili-n-cholent

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 12:09 pm

I would love to buy myself a wok and have been viewing a few online.
I see a few options.
There's the nonstick type which to me seems a bit inauthentic. But possible more practical
And there's the hammered carbon type which they sell preseasoned or or you need to season on your own.
I researched a bit and it seems like a huge deal to be doing that but I really don want to get the best wok for my money.
Any tried and true recommendations? Links?

Amarante

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 12:23 pm

Frankly unless you have a wok burner a traditional wok is not the best way to stir fry foods.

This is because wok cooking in a Chinese restaurant is used over a ultra ultra high gas flame which makes the sides of the wok heat up.

People who do a lot of Chinese cooking at home will actually have a special wok burner which has a very high output like a professional Chinese restaurant kitchen.

On a regular stove, using a wok you have a pan with a very small bottom

The best results are when I used the America's Test Kitchen method of stir frying which is modified so that the food is stir fried on a large heavy saute pan with a large surface that actually gets heated.

I have a 13" nonstick pan which I got from Macy's which I use for excellent results. Their technique is basically the same for all stir fries - stir the protein in small enough quantities so that they get seared and not steamed - take out - add the savories (I.e. garlic, onion or whatever the recipe calls for) - add the veggies but in a specific order so that those vegetables which take longer to cook are added first and then the fast cooking veggies are added later - the sauce with the slurry is added when veggies are not quite done and then the protein is added back in.

This is the basic template but I can post the exact instructions if you are interested from their cookbook.

Frumme

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 12:46 pm

I like my stainless steel Cuisinart wok. One day we'll upgrade to a round bottom one!

amother

Orange

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 12:49 pm

I love my nonstick anolon wok

amother

Melon

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 12:58 pm

I don’t know what I am talking about but I know that with preseasoned cast iron, kashrut can be an issue. I don’t know anything about woks, but you mentioned pre-seasoned and figured I should just bump up the idea incase you get one.

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 1:01 pm

I have a Bluestar gas range (simple but very high-powered and $$$$) which is excellent for stir-frying because you can remove a burner grate and nest the wok in the recessed space.

So if you have a good setup, I prefer a carbon steel wok — I actually have three; seasoned them all myself and this is not hard to do. 2 are round bottom, the 3rd one has a flat bottom and dates way back to when I had an electric range — you want the wok to get as hot as possible.

I do not think that a nonstick wok is the best option if you have a powerful range because really high heat does not pair well with non-stick surfaces, and also because over time a frequently used wok develops a non-stick patina anyway.

Amarante

Wed, Dec 07 2022, 1:04 pm

Rubber Ducky wrote:

You have essentially a wok burner and of course a nonstick pan isn't appropriate as I think they only are supposed to be used up to a relatively low temperature and a real wok burner will heat the pan up significantly higher.

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